Coming to Australia - Tax Guide
Coming to Australia - Tax Guide
This guide is intended for individuals moving to Australia for employment purposes. It aims to provide an overview of the main Australian tax considerations and issues that affect employees working in Australia and is current as at July 2025.
Coming to Australia: An employee's tax guide covers the following topics:
- Visa requirements, including requirements for visitors, temporary visas, permanent visas and the APEC Business Travel Card
- Tax compliance, including PAYG and lodgment of tax returns
- Residence
- Categories of income, including employment income, employee share schemes (ESS), interest income, dividend income, rental income and capital gains tax (CGT) for Australian residents, temporary residents and non-residents
- Taxes and levies, including income tax, Medicare levy, superannuation and other taxes and levies such as gifts and estate taxes, payroll tax, land tax, and more
- Tax planning for employees
- Double taxation agreements.
How BDO can help
BDO’s tax specialists can guide you through everything you need to know about coming to Australia for work. If you would like tailored advice or have questions, please reach out to a BDO global expatriate and employment tax expert, or find out more about our employment tax services and migration services.
This publication has been carefully prepared, but is general commentary only. This publication is not legal or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. The information in this publication is subject to change at any time and therefore we give no assurance or warranty that the information is current when read. The publication cannot be relied upon to cover any specific situation and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact the BDO member firms in Australia to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances.
Each BDO member firm in Australia, their partners and/or directors, employees and agents do not give any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of information contained in this publication nor do they accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information in this publication or for any decision based on it, except in so far as any liability under statute cannot be excluded.
A.C.N. 050 110 275 Ltd ABN 77 050 110 275, an Australian company limited by guarantee, is a member of BDO International Ltd, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms.
BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO member firms.
© 2026 A.C.N. 050 110 275 Ltd. All rights reserved.
